


Snugglewolf Sleep Therapy

by da_athanasi



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mention of Past Violence, mention of past possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 18:40:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11386095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/da_athanasi/pseuds/da_athanasi
Summary: Stiles is having nightmares. Derek's solution is not what Stiles was expecting.---My Sterek Summer Exchange fic forwerewclfie!





	Snugglewolf Sleep Therapy

Stiles wasn't quite sure what caught Derek's eye specifically. There were probably a couple signs that would have tipped him off: Stiles's eyes were red and he had huge bags under them; He probably smelled like sugar and energy drinks from forcing himself to stay awake; Or maybe it was him walking into the corner of the wall because he couldn't keep his balance. It had most likely bee all three. Or, who knows, maybe werewolves can smell nightmares. That's definitely a thing that could happen, although Stiles would really prefer that it didn't.

In any case, for whatever reason, Stiles found himself staring out his window at Derek's face the night after Saturday's pack meeting. Well, glaring out the window. Stiles knew that Derek could see him, which meant that Derek knew Stiles had seen him because Stiles had almost flailed himself off the bed when he'd noticed the werewolf's hulking shape blocking out the street light. As it was, Stiles had barely managed to save his laptop from crashing to the floor from where he'd had it perched to watch Netflix. 

So after a few minutes of Stiles's glaring and Derek just staring placidly back at him through the glass, Stiles's gave a huff and pulled himself out of bed to unlock and open his bedroom window. 

"You rang? Well, knocked? Wait, you didn't even knock so what...just, what do you want, Derek?" Stiles babbled at the man outside his window. He tried to keep his voice down, but given how tired he was, Stiles wasn't sure he could even trust his own volume control. 

Derek stayed silent.

Frustrated, Stiles shrugged his shoulders and twirled his hands as in indication to say something, anything. 

Derek just raised his eyebrows and looked down at the floor then back up at Stiles face. Stiles sighed again and turned to go back to his bed, dropping to sit at the edge of it with even less grace than he could usually muster while Derek climbed almost silently into the room, and then closed the window behind himself.

Stiles rubbed his hands over his eyes and then through his hair. Maybe Derek had a project for him to research? At least that would give him a good reason to stay awake longer.

But when he looked back up, Derek was crouched right in front of him. 

"Jeez, dude! What the hell?! Warn a guy or something! Make some noise when you move! You're like a damn cat. A werewolf-cat. A cat-wolf? A werecat? Are there werecats? Is that a thing, because..."

"Stiles," Derek interrupted.

Stiles stopped talking and took a breath.

"...why aren't you sleeping?" Derek continued.

Stiles felt his stomach drop, but he recovered quickly. "Well, currently there's a werewolf who just crawled into my room Edward Cullen style that is interrogating me instead of letting me get my beauty rest, so..."

"You know what I mean." Derek replied.

"Do I?" Stiles responded, "because you're usually not so good with the words so I have to rely heavily on communication by eyebrow and right now they're not really..."

"Why haven't you been sleeping?" Derek interjected.

Stiles paused, looking away from Derek. This was why he hated werewolves. They were entirely too perceptive, even Scott. Well, maybe not Scott. Scott was still kinda oblivious sometimes. Which was actually kind of worrying since he had the werewolf hearing and the werewolf nose now, and...

"Stiles?" 

Derek was interrupting Stiles's internal babbling now. Great.

"I...uh," Stiles stammered, "I don't...really...wanna be asleep?" Dammit, why had it come out as a question?

"Why not?" Derek tilted his head inquisitively, his eyebrows now definitively broadcasting the emotion of "concerned."

Stiles looked down at his fingers, which were attempting to tie themselves into a knot in his lap. With a frustrated sigh he pulled his hands apart and looked back up at Derek's face. 

"Why do you care?" Stiles demanded.

Derek's eyebrows lowered further, as if angry, which only made Stiles feel worse. Of course Derek cared. He'd been the one to put himself between Chris's gun and Stiles. Stiles had started to figure that the two of them were maybe even friends, a thought which made his chest tighten uncomfortably.

Guiltily, Stiles slid past Derek to stand in front of his dresser, keeping his back to the werewolf. Derek stood from his crouch and waited.

Stiles sighed again, and put his hands down on the top of his dresser, gripping the edge. "When...when I close me eyes, I..." he whispered.

Derek took a step forward behind him.

"When I close my eyes, I can see them," he repeated, more strongly this time. "All of them. The people I...killed."

"Stiles..." Derek started forward.

Stiles turned to look at him, stopping his movement. "And when I fall asleep, it gets worse. I have...nightmares. But they're so much worse than nightmares because..." Stiles voice became clotted as his eyes began to stream. He gulped and took a breath to continue, "Because it actually happened. I was there, trapped, watching these people die because of me and I..." a sob wracks Stiles body as he turns to face Derek fully. "I couldn't DO anything!" 

Stiles angrily wiped at his eyes. He didn't notice that Derek had moved again until the man was right in front of him. 

"What...what're you..." Stiles stutters, his heart pounding in his chest at the werewolf's sudden proximity, but then he's suddenly engulfed in Derek. The man's arms were wrapped around him and he squeezed Stiles tightly like he was worth holding onto and Stiles was frozen in shock for a moment before he timidly moved his hands down to sit on Derek's waist. Stiles waited for a few breaths, unsure what to do, but when no immediate physical threat occurred, Stiles allowed himself to relax into the hug and buried his head in Derek's neck.

"Derek..." Stiles whispered, breathing in Derek's scent, a mixture of clean skin and the sweet decay of the forest. 

Derek placed his hand behind Stiles head and shushed him gently. Stiles melted into it for a minute, just letting himself be held. God, how many times had he thought about this? How many times had he imagined being wrapped up in Derek's embrace? It was so wonderful to just let the older man hold him and enjoy being pressed against him. But with that thought, a surge of guilt hit Stiles and he struggled to pull back. He didn't deserve Derek's affection or care.

"No. No...Derek, I killed those people," Stiles sobbed, "they're dead because of me. Allison's dead because of me! I hurt Scott! I hurt you! If I hadn't been so selfish..."

Derek's eyebrows descended in consternation. "Selfish? Stiles, you used yourself as a sacrifice to save your dad! To save this town!"

Stiles shook his head, "no, I did it for myself! I couldn't bear to lose my dad because I didn't want to be alone! I didn't care about the town! Scott and Allison..."

"Scott and Allison put themselves in the same position for the same reason," Derek interrupted, his voice calm and sure. "Either one of them could have been possessed."

Stiles wanted to believe Derek, to trust what he was saying, but part of him just couldn't shake the guilt. "No," he responded, shaking his head. "Scott was a werewolf, so the fox couldn't have kept hold of him for long, and Allison was too popular. People would have noticed her doing weird things."

"Stiles, we should have noticed!" Derek moved his hands to brace Stiles's shoulders. "We should have seen what was happening sooner. We're all at fault for not helping you, but really, the only one who's to blame for the nogitsune is the nogitsune. He used your body, yes, but he was the one doing evil things, not you." 

Derek stared hard into Stiles face, like he was willing the younger man to understand. Stiles stared back for a moment, seeing the hard intent in Derek's eyes. Derek believed that. Derek believed that the nogitsune wasn't his fault.

Stiles shook his head, pulling out of Derek's arms completely to go sit back on the bed. He wiped the tears that had spilled down his face with his long sleeves and sniffled a few times, trying to clear his nose. 

After a moment, Stiles felt the bed dip to his right, and a warm hand gently laid on his back. He sat for a moment, letting the contact comfort him, before speaking.

"How...how long did it take you to forgive yourself," Stiles asked quietly.

The room stayed silent for a minute, so Stiles looked up at Derek. His face was set in confusion.

"I know," Stiles continued, "...about Kate. About what she did, I know. I figured it out."

Derek's eyebrows drew down in consternation, his eyes searching Stiles face before losing focus for a minute.

"I mean, you don't have to..." Stiles stuttered, sitting up to face toward Derek, "you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just...shit. Fuck, I'm sorry, dude. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine," Derek interrupted, his voice adamant. He slid his hand up to Stiles's shoulder to keep the young man from moving away. "Stiles, its fine. I figured you knew, it's just...it's been a while since I've talked about it with anyone."

Stiles stared hard at Derek for a moment, trying to make sure he hadn't overstepped or anything, but Derek's face betrayed very little, so Stiles had to trust what the older man had said.

"Okay. Well, you don't have to talk about it now, but...if you ever need anyone to talk to, I think...maybe I can relate or something."

Derek snorted, the corner of his mouth coming up slightly. "I'll remember that." He squeezed Stiles's shoulder again for good measure and then slid his hand down Stiles's back to fold them in front of himself again. "So...how do we get you some sleep?"

Stiles snorted this time and ducked his head. "Dude, I don't know. Maybe you can just knock me out or something."

Derek grinned, "what, you want me to slam you into a door? For old times sake?"

"Hardly." Stiles replied, his shaking his head. He ran his fingers through his hair again, feeling how shaggy it had gotten. He gave his scalp a couple frustrated scratches before letting out a huff. "I used to have nightmares after my mom died. They were awful. I...I couldn't really sleep for months."

"What did you do to deal with them?" Derek asked.

"I, uh," Stiles glanced up at Derek, then back to the floor. "...I used to break into the k-9 cages at the station and cuddle up with the dogs there." Stiles smiled at the memory. "I don't know why, but just having those furry bodies around me really helped to calm me down. Plus, they didn't get angry at me if I woke up anxious or flailed around. They'd just shift until they were sitting on me, weighing me down." 

Stiles looked back up at Derek, a rye smile on his face. "Maybe I was born to be in a wolf pack, huh?"

"Hmm" Derek replied, a grin on his face, before looking around the room. After a moment Derek stood, and started toeing off his shoes. 

"What...what are you doing?" Stiles asked. 

Derek didn't respond, continuing to remove his shoes and socks before pulling his shirt over his head. 

Stiles's mouth went dry as he stared at the older man's back, watching the muscles ripple as he folded his t-shirt and placed it on the corner of Stiles's desk. God, was this some sort of hallucination? Stiles looked down at his hands and quickly began counting his fingers. There were ten of them, so he looked back up at Derek to find the man was facing him again. Derek had removed his belt and was unbuttoning his jeans. 

"Dude! What?!" He gasped out.

Derek smirked up at him for a second before black fur started sprouting all over his body and his bones began popping shifting. Derek's eyes blazed bright blue as he fell to all fours, his pants and underwear falling to the ground as his legs changed shape. After a moment, a huge black wolf stood in the place where Derek had been. 

"Um...Derek?" Stiles prodded.

Derek's eyes flashed blue again before returning to their usual hazel green. The wolf walked towards Stiles, who instinctually backed onto the bed. 

"Uh, dude, what..." Stiles asked, continuing to move back until he was pressed against the wall at the head of the bed, the wolf following him up onto the mattress. Derek leaned forward until his nose pressed against Stiles's cheek, his breath warm against Stiles's skin.

The young man tensed, waiting for Derek to do something, but then his nose was gone. The wolf turned around a couple times before dropping himself down, he back pressed along Stiles's side.

Hesitantly, Stiles lifted his hand to Derek's back, brushing his fingers lightly into the fur there. "God, you're so soft," Stiles whispered, before realizing he'd spoken aloud. But the wolf didn't respond. Steeling himself, Stiles puts his hands further into the wolf's coat, scratching slightly against the skin beneath.

The wolf tensed for a moment, and Stiles froze, fearing that he'd overstepped again, but then Derek relaxed again, his legs stretching out slightly into a more comfortable position.

Stiles laughed, as his hands again began their scritching. "Oh my God, dude! You're just a giant puppy, aren't you?"

Derek huffed, twisting his head to look back at Stiles balefully. It just makes Stiles laugh harder, scratching Derek all over. He couldn't help trying to find Derek's sweet spot, but he never really found it.

Eventually, Stiles calmed down and found himself wrapped along Derek's back, his face buried in Derek's fur, which still smelled of Derek's warm skin and forest sweet. His heart ratcheted up a notch as he realized that he was basically spooning Derek, even if he was in his wolf form. 

"Um, dude, I, uh,...I hope I'm not like, making this weird..." Stiles said, starting to retract his hand, only for Derek to grab it in his jaws, lightning fast. His bite was gentle, but still strong enough to keep Stiles from retreating without actually hurting. With a tug, Derek pulled Stiles's hand back around him, then licked the bite mark once as if apologizing. 

Stiles just stared at the wolf, his heart still pounding in his chest. "O-kay," he murmured, more to himself than to Derek, before letting his head fall back down. After a few deep breaths, Stiles squeezed the wolf. Derek answered with a deep chest rumble, more akin to a purr than to a growl.

Stiles huffed out a soft laugh, rubbing his face into Derek's fur, finally feeling safe enough to let himself drift off.

"Thanks, snugglewolf..." he murmured before passing out.

Stiles woke up the next morning alone, but without having had a single nightmare. He'd almost have thought it was a dream, if he hadn't find a sticky note sitting on his laptop, the only message on it a paw print.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this is acceptable for what you were wanting! I’ll probably add some more to it on but I couldn't get the ending to do what I wanted. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!


End file.
